Well Again
by shelllessturtle
Summary: Rumple escapes from Zelena's hold and makes it back to Belle, and he is very, very hungry.


A/N: Written to fill a prompt from annievh on Tumblr. I saw it in the RumBelle tag and couldn't resist.

Disclaimer: They aren't mine, but I'll play nicely and put them back when I'm done.

* * *

Belle stared blankly at the dagger in her hands. She honestly hadn't expected it to be as easy as this. She had expected a struggle, a battle, a clash of wills at the very least with the Wicked Witch, but…Rumplestiltskin's dagger had simply been handed to her. And by the man himself, no less.

Much as she wanted to believe that it could really be that simple, she had learned long ago to be wary of tricks where magic was concerned. She would not put it past Zelena to have created a replica of the dagger, given it to Rumple, instructed him to treat the replica as if it were the real dagger, and sent him off to Belle, still maintaining her own power to control him.

Belle took a deep breath, thinking carefully about what Zelena could possibly had said to him and trying to ignore the desperation in Rumple's eyes. "I want to believe this," she finally said, "but I can't take the chance that Zelena still has control. You understand, don't you?"

Rumple nodded. "Of course, Belle. I am yours to command."

Belle gripped the dagger tightly. He looked so _haggard_, gaunt and pale, and she had to fight the urge to pull him into her arms, lead him to her kitchen, and just feed him. Focusing, she did her best to remember everything Rumple had ever taught her about magic, and concentrated on _commanding_ the dagger. "Go to the person who is holding your real dagger," she instructed.

Instantly, Rumple was at her side. That didn't tell her much; if Zelena _had_ told him to treat a replica as the real thing, that command would have sent him to Belle either way. Still, it also would have given him room to return to Zelena, had he tried hard enough. "Now tell me _exactly_ how you got this dagger from Zelena."

Rumplestiltskin smiled, his "aren't I so clever" grin that he used when he had talked someone in circles and gotten them to agree to whatever he wanted, the one Belle hadn't realized how much she had missed until that moment. "I learned to exploit the loopholes in Zelena's commands," he said. "She would tell me to go to my cage—" Belle made a tiny noise, halfway between outrage and horror, and her grip on the dagger tightened further, but Rumple talked on "—but not to stay there. I got out one night, fought my way to Zelena's room. It _hurt_; the magic knew I was obeying the letter of the command, not the spirit, and didn't like it, but I—I thought about getting home to you, and I made it. I took the dagger from her room, and I ran."

He looked pained by the memory, though whether it was because of the magical suffering he had experienced or the fact that he had done nothing more than run, Belle couldn't tell. She wanted to wrap her arms around him, comfort him, and tell him it was okay, everything was going to be okay, but she couldn't. Not yet.

She swallowed hard and said, "Now tell me again, but unless that story was _completely true_, tell me something different."

Rumple smiled again, this one a smile of pride at her cleverness, and repeated his story word for word.

Belle felt her smile was so wide it might crack her face in half by the time he was done, but she had one more test before she could be absolutely sure. "Stay here," she told him, before moving a few feet away. "Go to the person who is holding the dagger you gave to your shadow in Neverland," she ordered, and, grinning from ear to ear, Rumple was back at her side in seconds,

Overjoyed, Belle threw her arms around his neck. "You came back to me!" she exclaimed, tears of joy forming in her eyes.

"I couldn't very well stay away, could I?" Rumple asked, wrapping his arms around her and burying his face in her neck. Belle was content just to stand there, holding him, for a very long time, perhaps at some point moving on to kissing and some other activities she had missed engaging in with him, but, all too soon, his stomach growled loudly.

Pulling away with a small laugh, Belle said, "I doubt the witch fed you well while you were in her care. Would you like a hamburger?" The look of disbelieving joy that overtook his face told her all she needed to know.

In her time since her first hamburger, Belle had become rather adept at making them herself, though she'd be lying through her teeth if she said that hers were better than Granny's. Still, as the scent of browning meat filled the air and she fought the urge to abandon the cooking in favor of Rumple's arms, she could tell from the look on her love's face that just about any kind of food would be welcome at the moment.

As the patties sizzled, Belle pulled out a pitcher of iced tea she had made earlier in the day, the bag of hamburger buns, and Rumple's favorite condiments. Setting everything in front of him, she pulled the first finished burger from the pan, placed it on a plate and added it to everything else on the table. Still keeping half an eye on the remaining patties in the pan, Belle watched, smiling, as Rumple rapidly prepared the burger tha way he liked it—including _plenty_ of ketchup, which made her laugh—and began wolfing down. Turning off the stove, she reached out and placed her hand on his arm. "Adorable" was not a word most people would apply to the most powerful man in the Enchanted Forest, but, with a hamburger half-in, half-out of his mouth and a confused look on his face, Belle found that "adorable" was the only accurate word.

She smiled gently. "Slow down," she said. "You'll make yourself ill. It's not going anywhere, I promise."

Rumple nodded and did as he was told, while Belle put the remaining patties on a plate and added them to the table.

Belle found that as she watched him eat, she couldn't keep from touching him. She sat next to him, one hand remaining on his arm, watching in almost angry astonishment as his skin visibly regained color. When Rumplestiltskin finished his first burger and reached for a second, something clicked into place in Belle's mind, and she reached out to put her hand over his, gently stopping.

"Belle…" he whined at her.

"You haven't been eating much, have you?" she asked.

Rumple shook his head, looking longingly at the three burger patties left on the plate.

"Then it's dangerous for you to eat too much at once," Bell said. "Wait for a bit. IF you're still hungry in ten minutes, you can have another."

Obviously recognizing the logic in her statement, Rumple nodded, then leaned his head against Belle's shoulder. Unable to keep from smiling at the sheer happiness of having him with her once more, Belle reached up and began stroking her fingers through his hair. "Is there anything special you want tomorrow?" she asked after a short period of silence.

"Brownies," Rumple said immediately.

Belle almost laughed at how eager he sounded. "Do you want to get them from Granny's, or do you want me to make them?"

Rumple smiled. "I want to make them together." He ended the sentence with a yawn, then added, "You were right. I'm not hungry anymore."

Belle helped him stand, smiling and suppressing her own yawn. "Come on, then. It's time you were back in your own bed."

The look of relief on his face nearly broke her heart. "An actual bed," she sighed, and began moving towards the stairs. Belle stayed back, though, to put away the food, and when Rumple realized she wasn't with him, he turned back to her.

Belle looked up, her gaze questioning, as he stopped. "I don't…I don't want to be alone," he admitted quietly.

Her heart did break at that, and she threw the rest of the food haphazardly into the fridge, left the4 dishes in the sink with a muttered, "They'll keep," and hurried to Rumple's side. Twining her fingers through his, she walked with him to their bedroom. "Everything's pretty much as you left it," she said, "except…I've moved back in."

The smile that lit his face was so breathtakingly beautiful and happy that Belle almost couldn't stand it. She let herself be pulled into his arms and wrapped her own tight around his waist, placing a gentle kiss against his lips and then burying her face in his chest.

After letting him cling for a few moments, Belle gently disentangled herself and led him to the dresser. Not wanting to be away from each other even long enough to change, and far from shy with each other anymore, they shed their day clothes in exchange for pajamas right there in the bedroom. Once redressed, Rumple sat on the edge of the bed and pulled Belle into his lap. He nuzzled into her neck and placed a few gentle kisses around her pulse point.

Belle kept her surprised gasp to herself. Much as she loved what Rumplestiltskin was doing, much as she had missed him, much as her primal desires were screaming to have him _now_, she knew he was exhausted and probably sick somewhere under the remaining adrenaline of his escape and the happiness of being back with her. Very gently, she pushed him away.

"You need sleep, Rumple," she murmured.

"I know," he whispered back. "Please don't leave me."

Smiling, Belle lay down on her side of the bed and drew Rumple to her. As he wrapped his arms tightly around her, she drew up the covers over the both of them, and then returned the favor. Face-to-face, finally safe once more in her True Love's arms, Belle pressed a tender kiss to Rumplestiltskin's forehead and whispered, "Never. I will never leave you again as long as we both live. Sleep now, love; rest and be well again."


End file.
